For most 9- and 10-year-old minor hockey players this season came and went and was just another year of hockey, but for one atom team from Bowden this season became about much more than playing a game, it became about life.
The Bowden Atom Blades went undefeated in the regular season and they won the league final last Tuesday night earning them the banner and the title of the top team in the West County Minor Hockey League.
A perfect season is rare to come by for most teams in any sport, especially a team that is faced with extraordinary challenges.
However, a group of athletes barely out of elementary school and their parents and coaches proved that it could be done.
Through the first half of the season the coaching team all had the same things in mind for the players, they wanted to work on passing and skating to get goals and win games, said Pat Rey, one of the Blades’ assistant coaches.
The 15 boys and one girl on the team came together right away with a mix of experienced players and players that had never really even skated before.
“They all melded together and had so much fun and that is why they won all those games, they won together as a team,” said Rey.
Then, in February, near the start of the second half of the season, the Blades lost their head coach James Cocke to a tragic car accident in Saskatchewan.
As a father of three from Bowden, Cocke was an inspiring force on the team and his passing was a shock to all.
“You play with your heart, and you play with your head and most of all have fun,” Coach James is quoted saying on the Blades website.
His words inspired the team enough to want to continue to play the rest of the season although dealing with the loss of a coach and friend.
“When we got the news about James’ passing it was probably the biggest turning point of the season. The team came together as a family, not just as a team and they pushed through the season from that point on,” said Rey.
The parents learned of James’ passing on a Tuesday and they held a team meeting with the players the next day to let the kids know they didn’t have to play on the weekend if they didn’t want to.
“The part that surprised us as adults is they voted to play, they wanted to play for him… it was a side you don’t expect to see from a group of 9- and 10-year-olds,” said Rey.
The players pushed through the rest of the season continuing to add points to the win column.
They finished the regular season with a record of 19-0-1 to carry them into the playoffs. After defeating Rocky Mountain House 2 team in the first round of playoffs the Blades faced off against Rocky Mountain House 1 in the finals.
The Blades won the first game of the round 14-8 but were determined to keep their winning record through the season.
At the end of the first period of the final the score was 2-1 for Rocky, making it one of the first times all season the Blades were down. They brought up the score in the second and went into the third period tied 4-4. During the last period the players made a final drive scoring four more goals to bring them to a 8-6 victory over Rocky.
“I am sure I can speak for all the coaches when I say we were so proud of the kids giving it their all and of their determination,” said Rey.
Don Rude and Randon Rankin were the other assistant coaches of the Blades, none of whom felt comfortable taking over the head coach position after James passed.
It was not a typical season for anyone involved but despite all the ups and downs the team still managed to make it happen, said Rey.
“I think (the win) was quite emotional for them, it was quite important and they knew what this meant for James and to come out on top was great.”
